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Kratos (God of War)
Kratos, also known as Ghost of Sparta and Fárbauti (by Jötnar), is a Spartan warrior that would become the slayer of Gods and the main protagonist and anti-hero from the God of War video game series. Though he eventually transforms into a more villainous character as his thirst for vengeance consumes him and causes him to destroy the world, initially Kratos is more of a gray character and anti-hero, who fights against corrupt gods and their forces but in a very brutal and violent manner. In the fourth game, Kratos sees the errors on his way and become much wiser anti-hero who now raising his son Atreus and ensuring that he will become better god than either him or corrupt gods that wronged him, and now only attacks in self-defense. He was voiced by Terrence C. Carson until God Of War III, was voiced as child in GOW: Ghost of Sparta by Antony Del Rio, and is currently being voiced by Christopher Judge as of God of War 2018 (IV). Carson also voiced Mace Windu in many video games, as Judge also famously played Teal'c in the Stargate series. Personality Kratos is destructive, fierce, and brutal, focusing mainly on his own goals, and turning what guilt he has into anger. Whenever he is wronged, he becomes obsessed with revenge and will destroy who or whatever he has to so as to get his vengeance. At first, Kratos wanted revenge on Ares for the war god making him kill his family, then Zeus for trying to kill him, and finally, his vendetta extends to all the gods. He tends to blame others for his actions, such as Ares or Zeus, until the end, when Kratos accepted the consequences of what he'd done and killed himself with the Blade of Olympus. He has even contemplated killing himself at some points out of his inability to cope with the constant memories of his crimes. But for all his faults, Kratos truly loved his family, the only time he is happy being when he got to see Calliope again. He also cared about Deimos and his mother, Callisto, regretted killing Athena and came to care about Pandora, like she was his daughter. After destroying Olympus, remarrying, and siring another child, Atreus, in Norway, Kratos becomes a more stoic character, only bursting out in anger when antagonized or threatened. Although he is sometimes prone to outbursts when disciplining his son, he almost always manages to regain control of himself before doing any damage. He also accepts full responsibility for his actions in Greece, often exhibiting extreme sadness and regret, and at times even falling into a state of depression, when confronted about his past behavior, he now also dreads being called the "Ghost of Sparta", angrily telling Mimir not to call him that. He is also more considerate to others' feelings as well, as he sternly reproaches Atreus when the latter asking Sindri the reason of Brok's blue skin while he himself doesn't. As a result of his drastic maturity, Kratos is shameful of his past and prefers to keep it a secret from his son. However, he eventually realizes being open to Atreus with his mistakes would allow Atreus to learn from Kratos' mistakes and not go down the dark path he himself once trodden. Following his union with Faye, Kratos went to great lengths to cover up his past as a God, especially from Atreus. Believing that his son’s godhood was a curse, Kratos kept the truth hidden with hopes that Atreus would live a normal life, though his secrecy became the source of his son’s recurring illness. Unfortunately for Kratos, Atreus despite his compassionate nature appears to have inherited his father's impulsiveness and tendency towards rage. He is alarmed at Atreus' outbursts and is quick to reprimand him for it, fearing that he will become the same monster as Zeus was in Greece. He is shown to love Atreus just as he loved Calliope, Lysandra, and most likely Faye. Telling his son that they would complete the journey together. Kratos's relationship with Faye is not well-known but it is apparent that they had a very close and loving relationship, as Kratos openly acknowledges that Faye was better than a God and wondered if he could raise his son without her. He also respected Faye's wishes of not taking Atreus hunting, resulting in Kratos being gone most of the time hunting for the family. However, his distrust for divine beings remains intact, opting to avoid interaction with the Norse Gods whenever possible, even when they (like Freya) try to befriend and help him. He is also shown to still harbor resentment towards the gods of Olympus, promptly telling the spirit of Athena to leave his head the moment she appears. He likewise reassures her that, while he is still a monster, he is no longer her monster. Despite this, Kratos is shown to have become more reasonable in dealing with the Norse Gods, as he was able to come to trust and care for Freya after she saved his son despite all of his previous distrust. Even after learning Freya had bewitched Mimir to prevent them from learning Baldur's weakness, Kratos cared enough to fight Baldur for her and later saved her life by killing Baldur when he attempted to choke her to death. He did not harm her when she swore vengeance on him, likely as he understands the pain she feels, having felt the same after killing his family, and believes that time will eventually cause her to forgive him. He also came to develop a strong friendship with Mimir, eventually taking his advice more and even comforting him at times. Kratos now only kills out of self-defense and does not see the point in killing a weakened enemy and he is shown to be much more polite towards those who ally with him and displays enough increased sensitivity to know how not to make an enemy out of others. He even tries to be the voice of reason when Atreus finds out he is a god and lets it go to his head. Though he finds Brok and Sindri annoying, Kratos is never rude or ill-natured around them and even trusts them to work on his gear. In addition, while he admitted that he doesn't like it when Sindri talks about his brother, he was nevertheless absolutely disapproving and reprimanding of Atreus when he coldly told Sindri to shut up about it, even going as far as to look almost apologetic to the Dwarf. He was also clearly not amused when Atreus asked Sindri on why Brok is blue-colored while he isn't. He was even more merciful enough to be willing to spare a weakened Modi and was greatly shocked and angered when Atreus killed him in retribution for the latter's insults towards Faye. Likewise, for Baldur, Kratos offered him multiple chances to step aside and only fought him when threatened. He ultimately offered Baldur a chance to escape when he was defeated and even tried reasoning with him, saying that vengeance is not a path to be walked by as people would not find peace, recounting his own experience with it. Due to his slaying of the Gods of Olympus, Kratos now understands that vengeance will not bring him or others peace, even trying to talk Baldur out of killing Freya and then killing him when he attempts to do so to try and end the cycle of children killing their parents. When Freya threatens Kratos and swears vengeance against him, he does not retaliate in anger and simply replies that she does not know him, showing maturity and self-control. When Atreus accused Kratos of not caring for Faye, he was simply annoyed and told Atreus to stop talking. Although Kratos does not seem to enjoy troubling himself by helping dead spirits, mainly because they no longer have any "needs, only wants", he does help people when need be. When prompted by Mimir to rescue the Valkyries, Kratos complained, but was willing to submit when Atreus reminded him of Midgard's fate being dependent on them doing the job, showing that even though he preferred to stay out of others affairs, he still cared for his new home, likely due to how he had once destroyed the lands of Greece and therefore seemingly finding the idea of saving the Norse lands as being a chance to start saving a world instead of destroying one. He also noted that as the Valkyries are so strong, they are useful for his and Atreus's growth in skill. When they reached Jotunheim, Mimir wanted to stay behind because their business was between Atreus and Kratos, but Kratos objected at first because he didn't want any affiliates of Odin finding Mimir. At the beginning of his journey with Atreus, Kratos kept his forearms wrapped in bandages to hide the scars from his chained blades, symbolizing his desire to hide his past from his son. At the end of their journey, after coming clean to his son about his past, Kratos threw away his bandages, deciding he has nothing left to hide. Kratos has also developed a dry sense of humor such as when Mimir asked Atreus to carry him since Kratos was tackling deadly traps, Kratos replied he would not want Mimir to miss "this" (the excitement of dodging the traps) and smirked slightly when Mimir claimed Kratos was enjoying himself. At one point, when Mimir asks Atreus to take a knife originating from his homeland, Kratos responded by saying "yes, boy.... take it. We may need to butter bread somewhere in our travels.", which caused Mimir to berate Kratos and say that his sarcastic humor makes no one like him. After freeing the Valkyries, Kratos became in a good mood and seems to doesn't care about what happened to the Valkyries from the past. Abilities *'Superhuman Strength:' Kratos possesses incredible super-strength, able to overpower monsters, Titans, and even Hercules, who was known for being unrivaled in sheer strength. These physical strengths most likely come from Kratos being a son of Zeus. The many impressive feats of Kratos include using his bare hands and raw strength to prevent the Titans Atlas and Cronos from crushing him, managing to wrestle and subdue many large and powerful beasts, including the Hydra. Even against Hercules, Kratos proved capable of stopping his charges, forcing him back and enduring his powerful bear-hugs without any ill-effects, even breaking free from them and defeating him, and even pushed a 1 million ton bridge with little to no effort. *'Enhanced Mobility:' He is highly agile and quick, possessing the ability to sense danger. He is also able to use a large variety of weapons and magical powers. Kratos can also keep up with beings who possess superhuman speed, such as Zeus, Charon, Hermes, and Pollux and time-bending Castor. Kratos also has useful skills that include climbing mountains and buildings, jumping with great heights, and swinging like an ape from a side to another over a big gap. *'Regenerative Healing Factor:' Kratos's regenerative healing factor allows him to heal & regenerate from injuries at a fast rate. Despite the fact that he can rapidly heal from injuries caused by godly weaponry, they still leave a scar on his body. Due to his regenerative healing factor, he can resist attacks that would normally kill other beings and can regenerate even being impaled by the Blade of Olympus. *'Superhuman Speed:' Kratos is incredibly fast, capable of matching the likes of Zeus who has the speed of lightning, Charon, Hermes, and Pollux and Castor who possessed Chronokinesis. His speed can at times prove to be a major factor in his victories, as shown by how he used his superior speed to kill Magni before he could react. This is further enhanced when he gained Boots of Hermes, Despite him being physically slower than Baldur his reflexes and reaction speed are enough to block his attacks. *'Superhuman Agility:' Kratos has tremendous agility, capable of easily climbing mountains and buildings, jumping great heights and landing without any problems, and swinging on ropes to cross long gaps. *'Invulnerability:' Kratos is extremely resilient to many forms of powerful magic, allowing him to easily take mystical attacks capable of normally killing humans with ease from the Gods. This does not prevent his body from being physically wounded, although most wounds that would kill a mortal man are much less fatal to him. *'Combat Abilities:' Kratos is also a highly skilled and powerful warrior, displaying immense mastery with his weapons. It is implied that he learned many of his fighting skills from other gods, most notably Ares, the Former God of War himself. In general, Kratos' years of training and experience made him a dangerous combatant in both armed and unarmed combat, he is particularly good at wrestling and close combat, using his high physical prowess and Spartan technique to compensate for his lacks of superhuman powers that other gods possess. His age did not hamper his skill at all, allowing him to effectively hunt monsters and proved capable of overpowering the likes of Magni and Baldur in battle. *'Enhanced Wisdom:' He gains a higher level of intelligence, being able to solve complex puzzles created by some of the best Greek architects. *'Immortality:' Kratos, in addition to having once been immortal as the new God of War until he lost his godhood, has been cursed for his sins to never be able to die, henceforth how he survived his suicide with the Blade of Olympus. However, as seen in God of War (2018), Kratos does age physically, albeit at a much slower rate than a mortal. *'Superhuman Stamina:' Kratos possesses an almost unlimited amount of stamina compared to a mortal man, allowing him to remain constantly active for days without tiring. This allows him to accomplish such feats as spending days scaling the temple of Pandora to reach Pandora's Box or taking down enormous monsters that require him to stay on the move. Should Kratos expend all his stamina, he only momentarily requires rest or food to restore it. *'Superhuman Durability:' Kratos is extremely durable, capable of withstanding falls from great heights and walking away unharmed, getting crushed, stabbed, beaten, blasted, and burned by various enemies and traps without any lasting damage as well as survive extreme environments such as Hel, the Norse Realm of the Dead, which according to Mimir was said to be so cold that not even Odin himself can survive there for long, as well as Muspelheim. In addition, blows from most other extremely physically powerful opponents have little-to-no effect against him. Supernatural Weapons (Greek Era) Before swearing himself to Ares, Kratos used a normal sword, but afterward, his weapons became the Blades of Chaos, short sword weapons that he wields mainly by swinging the blades on the chains in a whip-like manner. Kratos can also wield them in the manner of short swords and the Blades can also be enveloped with flame. After his victory over Ares, he replaces them with the Blades of Athena, which were badly damaged after Kratos fell into the River Styx and Athena replaces them with the Blades of Exile. Both of those pairs of weapons have most of the same powers and moves as the Blades of Chaos. After becoming the god of war, Kratos gained a number of godly powers, such as immortality and invulnerability to most forms of attack. However, he infused these powers into the Blade of Olympus, which is his most powerful weapon. *'Blades of Chaos --> Blades of Athena --> Blades of Exile': These are the primary weapons that Kratos uses. While they have their own unique features, what is common about these 3 pairs is that they are Short Swords that have powers of fire and are jagged. The Blades of Exile are the most powerful among these three pairs, having been upgraded by Athena using the Blades of Athena. Kratos uses them to slice, eviscerate and impale enemies, as well as using them as chained grappling hooks, either to drag enemies towards him or climb mountains. *'Bow of Apollo': The bow has two main firing modes; a rapid-fire mode in which Kratos can launch a flurry of flaming arrows in rapid succession, or a power mode, where Kratos charges up the bow to release charged Fire Arrows. The arrows are also unaffected by gravity. *'Nemean Cestus': The Nemean Cestus are originally Hercules's weapons before Kratos took them for his own and used them to brutally beat Hercules to death. A pair of huge metal gauntlets, each forged to resemble a snarling lion's head. It greatly increases and compounds the strength of its wielder when worn. *'Blade of Olympus:' *'Claws of Hades:' *'Nemesis Whip:' *'Head of Helios:' *'Boots of Hermes:' *'Spear of Destiny:' Supernatural Weapons (Norse Era) *'Leviathan': One of the most iconic weapons in the entire GOW series is the Leviathan, the newest supernatural weapon. The Leviathan is a two-handed axe forged by the Huldra Brothers, Sindri & Brok, for Kratos' late wife Faye aka. Laufey before it later passed to Kratos by Faye herself. It has several symbols inscribed on the weapon's blade which give it special powers, among them being the ability to call the weapon back to the wielder's hand like Thor's Mjolnir and Ice magic. The similarities between both Leviatan and Mjolnir was revealed to be intentional, for Huldra Brothers were ashamed for creating the latter for Thor, who then abused the hammer by massacring Jötnar and performing many other forms of atrocities with it, suggesting Leviathan partly made to counteract Mjolnir as well. (Ice weapon) *'Blades of Chaos': The Blades Of Chaos appear is the game as well but with a slightly different appearance and an upgrading factor. Because of their pyrokinetic power and Grecian mystical origin they are able to burn in Helheim, a crucial aspect for Kratos that allows him to fight Hel Walkers and survive the travel through Helheim. Kratos hid the weapons under the floorboards of his house in an attempt of leaving his rage and his past behind, but when his son fell ill he was forced to take them out, as he needed them in Helheim where he would find the main ingredient to his cure. (fire weapon) *'Guardian Shield': A collapsible shield that can be used to parry and block enemy attacks and can also be used offensively in combination with the Blades of Chaos and Kratos' fists. When not in use, the shield takes a gauntlet-like form to occupy less space. (blocking weapon) Quotes ''God of War: Chains of Olympus'' ''God of War'' (2005) ''God of War: Ghost of Sparta'' ''God of War II'' ''God of War III'' ''God of War'' (2018) }} Gallery Kratos rendering concept.jpg|Kratos in God of War III. GOW_III_Kratos.jpg Norse Kratos.png|Kratos in 2018's God of War. 2dfe10ba2a200a4c89f7dbfa9cba734d.jpg MK-Kratos.jpg|Kratos in 2011's Mortal Kombat. Soul-Calibur-Kratos.jpg|Kratos in Soulcalibur: Broken Destiny. Avatar_kratos_1.png|Kratos in PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale. Kratos-GOWA-Live-Action-Trailer.jpg|Kratos in the live-action trailer for Ascension. GOW-A-Statue.jpg|Kratos' Ascension statue. Kratos-and-Atreus-Statue.jpg|Kratos and Atreus statue. God-of-War-Kratos-Funko-Pop.jpg|Greek era Kratos funko pop. God-of-War-2018-Kratos-Funko-Pop.jpg|Norse era Kratos funko pop. Kratos Death Prophecy.jpg|Kratos discovering the prophecy announcing his death. Thorgodofwar.png|"Who are you?!" Video Mortal Kombat Kratos Ending Video|Kratos' ending in MK9 Trivia *Kratos' name comes from "Cratos", which means "power" or "strength" in Greek and in Greek mythology, Cratos was the god that personified power. He was the son of Pallas and Styx and imprisoned Prometheus under orders of Hephaestus, alongside Bia, his sister. *Kratos was voiced by Terrence C. Carson. *Kratos is apparently 8 feet tall, according to the special features of God of War III. *As the games went by, his tattoos became thinner and thinner, changing slightly in design. *In the flash-backs to the events of God of War in God of War III, Kratos' design is the one he had in God of War III. *Stig Asmussen, a developer for the God of War series, revealed that David Jaffe, who directed the series, had originally been planning to have Kratos take on the gods of Norse and Egyptian mythology after killing Zeus and the Greek gods and meet his counterparts from both those mythologies in God of War III. *In each game in the main God of War series, Kratos was stabbed in the stomach at least once and burned someone alive. *In early screenshots for God of War, the tattoos on Kratos' head were in the shape of an omega symbol. *Kratos makes guest appearances in SoulCalibur: Broken Destiny, Everybody's Golf: World Tour, ModNation Racers, PlayStation All Stars Battle Royale, LittleBigPlanet, TheSecretOfNIMHLegends, and the PS3 version of Mortal Kombat. Kratos also appears as a parody in the Simpsons Game on a billboard with the words, "God of Wharf", next to a Simpsons style version of Kratos eating a bowl of chowder. *Kratos' God of War Armour and Blades of Chaos appear in Heavenly Sword on display in an armory. The inscription reads that it is the "Armour of the Prince who stood alone against the Persian Army." *The name of Kastor, a character from Age of Mythology, is meant to be an anagram of Kratos' and their storylines are similar. *7-Eleven released a Slurpee called "Kratos Fury" to help promote God of War III. *David Jaffe wanted Djimon Hounsou to portray Kratos in the planned God of War movie, but the film has been left in development hell and it's unknown if Hounsou is involved. See also *Kratos in the Villains Wiki *Kratos in the God of War Wiki *Kratos in Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia *Kratos in the Soulcalibur Wiki *Kratos in the PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale Wiki Navigation Category:Male Category:Honorable Category:Warriors Category:Tragic Category:Comic Book Heroes Category:Related to Villain Category:Immortals Category:Vengeful Category:Betrayed Category:Pawn of the Villain Category:Martyr Category:Hybrids Category:Suicidal Category:Successful Category:Deities Category:Nemesis Category:Provoker Category:One-Man Army Category:Brutes Category:Fallen Category:Nihilistic Category:Virtually Resourceful Category:Wrathful Category:Obsessed Category:Genius Category:Traitor Category:Fantasy Heroes Category:Leaders Category:Siblings Category:Scapegoat Category:Mythology Category:Theology Heroes Category:Video Game Heroes Category:Revived Category:Beat'em Up Heroes Category:Insecure Category:Chaotic Neutral Category:Mentally Ill Category:Archenemy Category:Humanoid Category:Dreaded Category:Berserkers Category:Harbingers Category:Heroic Hegemony Category:Elementals Category:Military Category:Controversial Category:Heroic Heretics Category:Lethal Category:Selfless Category:Protector of Innocence Category:Medieval Heroes Category:Neutral Good Category:Fighters Category:Freedom Fighters Category:Parents Category:Monster Slayers Category:Famous Category:Arrogant Category:Redeemed Villains Category:Heroic Misanthropes Category:Wrestlers Category:Magic Category:Anti Hero Category:Grey Zone Category:Successors Category:Orphans Category:In Love Category:Heroic Disciplinarians Category:Big Good Category:Vikings Category:Loyal Category:Honest Category:Extremists Category:Servant of a Villain Category:Failure-Intolerant Category:Heroic Assassins Category:Reluctant Heroes Category:Mortal Kombat Heroes Category:Possessed/Brainwashed Category:Heroic Jerks Category:Merciful Category:Soul Calibur Heroes Category:Determinators Category:Outright Category:Protectors Category:The Hero Category:Gentle Giants Category:Status dependent upon Player choice Category:Poor